Dental abutment cap assembly
An apparatus includes a dental prosthetic, a metallic insert, and a plastic cap member. The insert is configured to be bonded in an interior of the dental prosthetic. The insert defines a passageway. The of the insert is configured to receive a screw. The cap member is configured to be interposed between the insert and the interior of the dental prosthetic.
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This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent App. No. 62/783,288, entitled “Dental Abutment Cap Assembly,” filed Dec. 21, 2018, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
BACKGROUNDSome patients may develop tooth loss warranting prosthetic replacement. An example of a dental prosthetic is a crown. To install a crown, a dental surgeon may first perform an osteotomy install an implant into the jaw where tooth is missing. The implant may serve as the structural anchor for the crown. The implant may be fully seated in the jaw, such that no portion of the implant protrudes from the jaw. A healing abutment may be temporarily secured to the implant to allow for osseointegration of the implant and healing of the adjacent gingiva. The surgeon eventually replaces the healing abutment with a final abutment. The final abutment may be secured to the implant via a screw. The crown may then be secured to the final abutment in various ways (e.g., a screw or an adhesive such as acrylic, dental cement, composite, etc.). In some cases, the final abutment may be received in a recess at the underside of the crown; and the crown may be secured directly to the final abutment. In some other cases, a coping or insert may be positioned in a recess at the underside of the crown; and the crown may be secured to the final abutment via the coping or insert.
Examples of dental crowns and associated technologies are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,915,178, entitled “Dental Prosthesis Manufacturing Process, Dental Prosthesis Pattern & Dental Prosthesis Made Thereby,” issued Jul. 5, 2005, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 8,200,462, entitled “Dental Appliances,” issued Jun. 12, 2012, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 8,769,822, entitled “Method for Manufacturing a Dental Prosthesis,” issued Jul. 8, 2014, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; and U.S. Pub. No. 2018/0036103, entitled “Multi-Piece Abutment and Digital Method for Preparation of a Dental Implant Surgical Site for the Promotion of a Desired Emergent Sulcus,” published Feb. 8, 2018, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
While several dental surgical devices and methods have been made and used, it is believed that no one prior to the inventors has made or used the invention described in the appended claims.
The drawings and detailed description that follow are intended to be merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention as contemplated by the inventors.
The following description of certain examples of the invention should not be used to limit the scope of the present invention. The drawings, which are not necessarily to scale, depict selected embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The detailed description illustrates by way of example, not by way of limitation, the principles of the invention. Other examples, features, aspects, embodiments, and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description, which is by way of illustration, one of the best modes contemplated for carrying out the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other different or equivalent aspects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions should be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive.
Any one or more of the teachings, expressions, versions, examples, etc. described herein may be combined with any one or more of the other teachings, expressions, versions, examples, etc. that are described herein. The following-described teachings, expressions, versions, examples, etc. should therefore not be viewed in isolation relative to each other. Various suitable ways in which the teachings herein may be combined will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the teachings herein. Such modifications and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the claims.
As used herein, the terms “about” or “approximately” for any numerical values or ranges indicate a suitable dimensional tolerance that allows the part or collection of components to function for its intended purpose as described herein. More specifically, “about” or “approximately” may refer to the range of values ±10% of the recited value, e.g. “about 90%” may refer to the range of values from 81% to 99%. In addition, as used herein, the terms “patient,” “host,” “user,” and “subject” refer to any human or animal subject and are not intended to limit the systems or methods to human use, although use of the subject invention in a human patient represents a preferred embodiment.
I. EXEMPLARY CAP FOR USE IN DENTAL PROSTHETIC PROCEDUREAs noted above, in some processes for installing a dental prosthetic such as a crown is installed along an alveolar ridge of a patient, a coping or insert may be positioned in a recess on the underside of the prosthetic. The coping or insert may serve as a structural interface between the prosthetic and an abutment, which is secured to the bone of the alveolar ridge. The term “insert” will be used hereinafter, it being understood that “insert” is intended to mean the same thing as the term “coping.” To ensure an appropriate fit between the insert, the prosthetic, and the abutment, it may be desirable to first seat the insert on the abutment, apply an adhesive (e.g., acrylic, dental cement, composite, etc.) to the recess on the underside of the prosthetic, then press the prosthetic onto the insert. The adhesive may secure the insert to the prosthetic, such that the prosthetic can “pick up” the insert from the abutment in what may be referred to as a “pickup process.” The combination of the prosthetic and insert may be subsequently secured to the abutment via a screw, adhesive, or in some other fashion.
During the process of bonding the insert to the prosthetic with the adhesive, it may be desirable to provide one or more structures that prevent the adhesive from reaching areas where it would be undesirable for the adhesive to reach. For instance, it may be desirable to physically block the adhesive from reaching a screw head or opening that is intended to receive a screw.
In some cases, it may be desirable to pass a screw through an occlusal surface (or other surface) of the prosthetic in order to secure the combination of the prosthetic and insert to an abutment. The prosthetic may thus include a screw access passageway formed through the occlusal surface (or other surface) of the prosthetic. In some such cases, the position and orientation of the screw access passageway may be predetermined, such that the screw access passageway may be formed before the pickup process described above. Such a preformed screw access passageway may be temporarily blocked during the pickup process to prevent adhesive from entering the screw access passageway. In some other cases, the position and orientation of the screw access passageway is not predetermined, such that the screw access passageway would be formed after the pickup process described above. In such cases, it may be difficult to precisely orient the screw access passageway to allow a screw to properly pass through the screw access passageway, through the insert, and into the abutment.
In view of the foregoing, it may be desirable to provide a device that facilitates formation of a screw access passageway through a dental prosthetic after a pickup process has been completed. It may be further desirable for such a device to prevent adhesive from reaching undesirable areas during the pickup process. Examples of such devices are described in greater detail below.
A. Exemplary Cap with Guide Shaft
As shown in
Next, as shown in
With insert (50) being releasably yet firmly retained against abutment (30), a prosthetic (60) is then pressed onto cap (10) and insert (50) as shown in
After reaching the state shown in
Next, the bit (82) of a drilling instrument (80) is passed through the hollow interior of shaft (14) of cap (10), drilling through head (12), adhesive (70), and prosthetic (60), as shown in
After bit (82) is removed from prosthetic (60), it may be desirable to widen the passageway formed by bit (82). The resulting configuration is shown in
Next, the assembly shown in
B. Exemplary Cap with Guide Recess
As shown in
With insert (200) secured to abutment (30) via screw (220), cap (210) is then pressed onto insert (200), as shown in
With cap (210) being retained against insert (200), a prosthetic (230) is then pressed onto cap (210) and insert (200) as shown in
Once adhesive (240) is cured after achieving the state shown in
In some instances, it may still be desirable to form a screw access opening through prosthetic (230). To that end, as a next stage, the surgeon may pull the combination of prosthetic (230) and cap (210) off of insert (200), resulting in the configuration shown in
Next, as shown in
After bit (82) is removed from prosthetic (230) as shown in
Next, another layer of fresh adhesive (270) is provided in the hollow interior (242) defined by adhesive (240); and the resulting assembly is repositioned onto insert (200) as shown in
After adhesive (270) cures, insert (200) may be bonded to prosthetic (230) via the combined layers of adhesive (240, 270). Screw (220) may be removed to allow the combination of prosthetic (230), insert (200), and adhesive (240, 270) to be lifted off of abutment (30), as shown in
While the foregoing examples all provide a fully coaxial relationship between implant (20) and all the components positioned above implant (20), other variations may provide a non-coaxial relationship between implant (20) and all the components positioned above implant (20). By way of example only, the foregoing teachings may be applied to scenarios where insert (50, 200) and prosthetic (60, 230) are oriented along a collective central axis that defines an angle of up to approximately 12 degrees, or even up to approximately 30 degrees, with the central axis of implant (20). In some such cases, abutment (30) may be configured to provide the oblique orientation relationship between implant (20) and the combination of insert (50, 200) and prosthetic (60, 230).
III. EXEMPLARY COMBINATIONSThe following examples relate to various non-exhaustive ways in which the teachings herein may be combined or applied. It should be understood that the following examples are not intended to restrict the coverage of any claims that may be presented at any time in this application or in subsequent filings of this application. No disclaimer is intended. The following examples are being provided for nothing more than merely illustrative purposes. It is contemplated that the various teachings herein may be arranged and applied in numerous other ways. It is also contemplated that some variations may omit certain features referred to in the below examples. Therefore, none of the aspects or features referred to below should be deemed critical unless otherwise explicitly indicated as such at a later date by the inventors or by a successor in interest to the inventors. If any claims are presented in this application or in subsequent filings related to this application that include additional features beyond those referred to below, those additional features shall not be presumed to have been added for any reason relating to patentability.
Example 1An apparatus, comprising: (a) a dental prosthetic; (b) a metallic insert configured to be bonded in an interior of the dental prosthetic, the insert defining a passageway, the passageway of the insert being configured to receive a screw; and (c) a plastic cap member configured to be interposed between the insert and the interior of the dental prosthetic.
Example 2The apparatus of Example 1, the dental prosthetic comprising a crown.
Example 3The apparatus of Example 1, the dental prosthetic comprising a bridge.
Example 4The apparatus of Example 1, the dental prosthetic comprising a denture.
Example 5The apparatus of any one or more of Examples 1 through 4, the cap member comprising a shaft configured to fit in the passageway of the insert.
Example 6The apparatus of Example 5, wherein the shaft is hollow.
Example 7The apparatus of any one or more of Examples 5 through 6, the cap member further comprising a head, the shaft extending from the head, the head being configured to fit between an end of the insert and an inner surface in the interior of the dental prosthetic.
Example 8The apparatus of any one or more of Examples 5 through 7, the shaft including a retention feature near a free end of the shaft.
Example 9The apparatus of Example 8, the retention feature comprising an annular bump.
Example 10The apparatus of any one or more of Examples 5 through 9, the shaft having a length configured to pass completely through the passageway and reach a bore of an abutment positioned adjacent to the insert.
Example 11The apparatus of any one or more of Examples 1 through 4, the cap member comprising a plurality of exterior retention members.
Example 12The apparatus of Example 11, the exterior retention members comprising downwardly-facing outer shelves.
Example 13The apparatus of any one or more of Examples 1 through 4 or 11 through 12, the cap member comprising a nose portion defining a guide recess.
Example 14The apparatus of Example 13, wherein the guide recess is configured to align with the passageway of the insert when the cap member is interposed between the insert and the interior of the dental prosthetic.
Example 15The apparatus of any one or more of Examples 1 through 4 or 11 through 14, the cap member comprising a plurality of interior retention members.
Example 16The apparatus of Example 15, the interior retention members comprising upwardly-facing inner shelves.
Example 17The apparatus of any one or more of Examples 15 through 16, the insert further including a plurality of outer retention members, the interior retention members of the cap member being configured to engage the outer retention members of the insert to thereby secure the cap member to the insert.
Example 18The apparatus of any one or more of Examples 1 through 17, the insert comprising titanium.
Example 19The apparatus of any one or more of Examples 1 through 17, the insert comprising stainless steel.
Example 20The apparatus of any one or more of Examples 1 through 19, the cap member comprising nylon.
Example 21The apparatus of any one or more of Examples 1 through 19, the cap member comprising polyether ether ketone.
Example 22The apparatus of any one or more of Examples 1 through 21, the cap member defining a guide channel configured to align with the passageway of the insert when the cap member is interposed between the insert and the interior of the dental prosthetic.
Example 23The apparatus of Example 22, wherein the cap member defines a hollow shaft configured to fit in the passageway of the insert, the hollow shaft defining the guide channel.
Example 24The apparatus of Example 22, wherein the cap member defines a nose portion configured to fit over an end of the guide channel, the nose portion defining the guide channel.
Example 25A method comprising: (a) securing an implant in bone in a mouth of a patient; (b) securing an abutment to the implant; (c) positioning an insert on the abutment; (d) positioning a plastic cap member on the insert, such that the insert and the cap member form an assembly; and (e) securing a dental prosthetic to the assembly formed by the insert and the cap member.
Example 26The method of Example 25, the dental prosthetic being secured to the assembly formed by the abutment and the cap member by an adhesive.
Example 27The method of Example 26, the adhesive being selected from the group consisting of: acrylic, dental cement, and a composite.
Example 28The method of any one or more of Examples 25 through 27, the insert being formed of metal.
Example 29The method of any one or more of Examples 25 through 28, the act of positioning the plastic cap member on the insert comprising inserting a shaft of the cap member through a bore defined by the insert.
Example 30The method of Example 29, wherein the shaft of the cap member is further inserted into a bore defined by the abutment.
Example 31The method of any one or more of Examples 25 through 28, the act of positioning the plastic cap member on the insert comprising receiving the insert in a hollow interior defined by the cap member.
Example 32The method of Example 31, wherein a plurality of internal engagement features in the hollow interior of the cap member engage a corresponding plurality of external engagement features of the insert.
Example 33The method of any one or more of Examples 25 through 32, further comprising removing the dental prosthetic and the cap member from the abutment.
Example 34The method of Example 33, wherein the insert is removed from the abutment with the dental prosthetic and the cap member.
Example 35The method of Example 33, wherein the insert remains on the abutment when the dental prosthetic and the cap member are removed from the abutment.
Example 36The method of Example 35, further comprising: (a) removing the cap member from the dental prosthetic, thereby exposing hardened adhesive in an interior region of the dental prosthetic; and (b) securing the dental prosthetic to the insert after removing the cap member from the dental prosthetic.
Example 37The method of Example 36, the act of securing the dental prosthetic to the insert after removing the cap member from the dental prosthetic comprising applying additional adhesive between an exterior of the insert and the hardened adhesive in the interior region of the dental prosthetic.
Example 38The apparatus of any one or more of Examples 33 through 37, further comprising forming an opening through the dental prosthetic, wherein the act of forming an opening comprises inserting a drill bit through a guide passageway defined by the cap member.
Example 39The apparatus of Example 38, wherein the opening formed through the dental prosthetic passes through an occlusal surface of the dental prosthetic.
Example 40The apparatus of any one or more of Examples 30 through 39, further comprising: (a) positioning the dental prosthetic back over the abutment, with the insert being interposed between the dental prosthetic and the abutment; (b) inserting a screw through the opening in the dental prosthetic; and (c) securing the dental prosthetic and insert relative to the abutment with the screw.
IV. MISCELLANEOUSIt should be understood that any of the examples described herein may include various other features in addition to or in lieu of those described above. By way of example only, any of the examples described herein may also include one or more of the various features disclosed in any of the various references that are incorporated by reference herein.
It should be understood that any one or more of the teachings, expressions, embodiments, examples, etc. described herein may be combined with any one or more of the other teachings, expressions, embodiments, examples, etc. that are described herein. The above-described teachings, expressions, embodiments, examples, etc. should therefore not be viewed in isolation relative to each other. Various suitable ways in which the teachings herein may be combined will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the teachings herein. Such modifications and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the claims.
It should be appreciated that any patent, publication, or other disclosure material, in whole or in part, that is said to be incorporated by reference herein is incorporated herein only to the extent that the incorporated material does not conflict with existing definitions, statements, or other disclosure material set forth in this disclosure. As such, and to the extent necessary, the disclosure as explicitly set forth herein supersedes any conflicting material incorporated herein by reference. Any material, or portion thereof, that is said to be incorporated by reference herein, but which conflicts with existing definitions, statements, or other disclosure material set forth herein will only be incorporated to the extent that no conflict arises between that incorporated material and the existing disclosure material.
Having shown and described various versions of the present invention, further adaptations of the methods and systems described herein may be accomplished by appropriate modifications by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention. Several of such potential modifications have been mentioned, and others will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For instance, the examples, versions, geometrics, materials, dimensions, ratios, steps, and the like discussed above are illustrative and are not required. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention should be considered in terms of the following claims and is understood not to be limited to the details of structure and operation shown and described in the specification and drawings.
Claims
1. An apparatus, comprising:
- (a) a dental prosthetic;
- (b) a metallic insert configured to be bonded in an interior of the dental prosthetic, the insert defining a passageway, the passageway of the insert being configured to receive a screw;
- (c) an abutment configured to be removably secured to the insert and defining a channel; and
- (d) a plastic cap member configured to be interposed between the insert and the interior of the dental prosthetic and to prevent bonding material from entering the channel of the abutment, the cap member comprising a nose portion defining a guide recess.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, the cap member further comprising:
- (i) a hollow shaft configured to fit in the passageway of the insert, and
- (ii) a head, the shaft extending from the head, the head being configured to fit between an end of the insert and an inner surface in the interior of the dental prosthetic.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, the shaft having a length configured to pass completely through the passageway and reach a bore of the abutment positioned adjacent to the insert.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, the cap member further comprising a plurality of annular flanges.
5. The apparatus of claim 4, the plurality of annular flanges comprising downwardly-facing outer shelves.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the guide recess is configured to align with the passageway of the insert when the cap member is interposed between the insert and the interior of the dental prosthetic.
7. The apparatus of claim 1, the cap member further comprising a plurality of upwardly-facing inner shelves.
8. The apparatus of claim 7, the insert further including a plurality of annular flanges, the plurality of upwardly-facing inner shelves of the cap member being configured to engage the annular flanges of the insert to thereby secure the cap member to the insert.
9. The apparatus of claim 1, the insert comprising titanium.
10. The apparatus of claim 1, the cap member further comprising nylon.
11. The apparatus of claim 1, the cap member further comprising polyether ether ketone.
12. The apparatus of claim 1, the cap member defining a bore configured to align with the passageway of the insert when the cap member is interposed between the insert and the interior of the dental prosthetic.
13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the cap member defines a hollow shaft configured to fit in the passageway of the insert, the hollow shaft defining the bore.
14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the nose portion is configured to fit over an end of the bore, the nose portion defining the bore.
15. An apparatus, comprising:
- (a) a dental prosthetic;
- (b) an insert configured to be bonded in an interior of the dental prosthetic, the insert defining a passageway, the passageway of the insert being configured to receive a screw;
- (c) an abutment configured to be removably secured to the insert and defining a channel;
- (d) an implant configured to be removably secured to the abutment; and
- (e) a plastic cap member configured to be interposed between the insert and the interior of the dental prosthetic and to prevent bonding material from entering the channel of the abutment, cap member comprising a plurality of annular flanges, the plurality of annular flanges comprising downwardly-facing outer shelves.
16. The apparatus of claim 15, the implant including threads configured to be axially aligned with the channel of the abutment, the apparatus further comprising a bolt configured to screw into the threads of the implant to thereby secure the abutment to the implant.
17. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising a screw, wherein the screw is configured secure the insert to the abutment.
18. An apparatus, comprising:
- (a) a dental prosthetic;
- (b) an insert configured to be bonded in an interior of the dental prosthetic, the insert defining a passageway;
- (c) an abutment configured to be removably secured to the insert and defining a channel;
- (d) a plastic cap member configured to be interposed between the insert and the interior of the dental prosthetic, the cap member comprising a plurality of upwardly-facing inner shelves; and
- (e) a screw configured to secure the insert and the plastic cap to the abutment.
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Type: Grant
Filed: Dec 5, 2019
Date of Patent: Jun 6, 2023
Patent Publication Number: 20200197134
Assignee: NATIONAL DENTEX, LLC (Jupiter, FL)
Inventor: Daniel R. Llop (Cornelius, NC)
Primary Examiner: Ralph A Lewis
Assistant Examiner: Mirayda A Aponte
Application Number: 16/704,355
International Classification: A61C 8/00 (20060101);